Could Texas take over Houston ISD? And why are people so...

1of 3People wave their hands in response to a speaker during the Houston ISD board meeting Tuesday, April 24, 2018. The trustees were scheduled to vote on whether to hand over control of 10 chronically low-performing schools to Energized For STEM Academy, which already runs four in-district HISD charters. Many of the large crowd attending the meeting are against the partnership.Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle

2of 3Travis McGee, HISD parent and Sunnyside community activist, speaks to the audience after the Houston ISD board members immediately went into a closed executive session Tuesday, April 24, 2018. Trustees were scheduled to vote on whether to hand over control of 10 chronically low-performing schools to Energized For STEM Academy, which already runs four in-district HISD charters. Many of the large crowd attending the meeting are against the partnership.Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle

3of 3Erika Albert, left, dishes out pizza with others to a crowd who were waiting while the Houston ISD board were in a closed executive session Tuesday, April 24, 2018. Several people in the crowd bought the pizzas. The trustees were scheduled to vote on whether to hand over control of 10 chronically low-performing schools to Energized For STEM Academy, which already runs four in-district HISD charters. Many of the large crowd attending the meeting are against the partnership.Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle

On Tuesday night, Houston ISD Board of Education President Rhonda Skillern-Jones ordered the board room be cleared during a special meeting after audience members voiced concerns over plans to hand over control of 10 long-struggling schools to a charter management nonprofit.

The district is facing a potential state takeover and possible state-mandated closure of the 10 schools, which are in in predominately African American and Latino neighborhoods.

Some in the audience refused to leave, and officers detained three women, letting one go minutes later but arresting on misdemeanor trespass and resisting charges.

Q: What is happening with these 10 schools?

A: If a school district has one or more schools that have failed to meet the state’s academic standards for five consecutive years, HB 1842 mandates the Texas Education Agency appoint a board of managers to assume operations of the entire school district or close the schools that fall into that category. Those schools' academic performances are judged by students' standardized test scores.

HB 1842 was passed in 2015, but Houston ISD officials only became aware of its ramifications in September, according to former Superintendent Richard Carranza.

Another law, HB 1882, would give school districts a two-year reprieve on a state takeover and school closures if the district taps a charter school management group, nonprofit or university to assume operations of those struggling schools. District officials learned of this option in September, as well.

On Wednesday, Houston ISD announced it would abandon plans to hand over operations of the 10 schools to Energized for STEM Academy, Inc., a charter partner announced the previous Friday.

A: In April 2017, then-Superintendent Richard Carranza announced the Achieve 180 initiative to improve the academic performances of 45 schools that failed to meet the state’s academic standard at least once in the past few years. Carranza proposed spending $24 million in additional funding for those schools, but the board ultimately approved $16 million.

The 10 schools in question were put into a special category called Superintendent’s Schools, where principals had additional resources and a direct line of contact to Superintendent Carranza.

Each of the schools focused on improving leadership, recruiting highly qualified teachers, providing more social and emotional supports for students, and better engaging with families, among other things. Teachers at those schools received additional professional development and stipends for putting in extra hours. Part of each day was dedicated to teacher collaboration, and instructional coaches sat in on classes to offer pointers to teachers trying to get students up to grade level.

Before Carranza’s administration, former Superintendent Terry Grier instituted the Apollo 20 program in 2010, which was considered a moonshot to improve long-struggling schools when it was unveiled but proved controversial. Not all of the 10 schools currently at risk of being closed were included, but Kashmere High School, Blackshear Elementary and Highland Heights Elementary were. Of the 20 schools targeted by intervention, 19 saw principals replaced and all of the targeted schools fired some teachers deemed "ineffective" by the district.

Among the old plan's hallmarks were daily math tutoring for all sixth- and ninth-graders and an extra math or reading class for students below grade level. It also lengthened the school year at selected campuses by five days and extended the school day by one hour.

Ultimately, the program's results were a mixed bag. While some campuses shook their "improvement required" label, others did not. Math scores improved during the program's tenure and dipped when it came to an end, but reading scores remained consistently low.

Q: What happens if HISD’s Board of Education does not pursue a third-party partnership with these schools?

A: Unless all 10 schools meet state standards for this year’s STAAR test scores, the schools will be closed or a state-appointed board of managers will take over HISD.

Q: Why are people upset that the schools' operations could be taken over by charter companies?

A: Public speakers on Tuesday expressed concerns that handing control of the 10 schools to charter companies would lead to their demise and would open the district up to more charter-partnerships in the future.

Others did not want the schools' entire staffs to be replaced, especially after the district recruited higher-performing teachers to those campuses through the Achieve 180 initiative.

Several speakers asked the board to sue the Texas Education Agency over the laws that would force school closures, saying they were discriminatory because the law disproportionately affects schools in predominately black and Hispanic communities.

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A contentious Houston ISD vote to temporarily give control over 10 low-performing schools turned physical Tuesday night as police escorted the public — nearly all of which opposed the plan — out of the room and didn’t allow it to return. (Shelby Webb / Houston Chronicle)

A: Those who attended Tuesday’s board meeting noticed changes to the set up immediately. Dozens of chairs were missing from the sides of the room, and the main sitting area was roped off. News media were relegated behind the ropes and were not allowed to use chairs.

There were more law enforcement officers on hand than usual. Typically, about four or six Houston ISD police officers check people’s bags before they enter the board room and monitor the meeting. On Tuesday, about 20 officers from both the Houston ISD Police Department and the Houston Police Department were on hand.

When the board meeting began, President Rhonda Skillern-Jones immediately called an executive session, meaning the board went into a back room to discuss the potential partnerships. The board is allowed to go into such closed sessions under certain circumstances, including the discussion of personnel or legal matters. On Tuesday’s meeting agenda, officials wrote that the board would discuss the partnerships in closed session because it would be a “legal discussion” during which trustees would get legal advice.

When the board reconvened in open session more than two hours later, they opened the floor to public comment. Forty two people had signed up to speak, according to a list of speakers provided by the district.

Trustees allowed the audience to clap for students who spoke on behalf of their schools but told the audience it could not give audible reactions to any other speakers.

After some folks clapped after adults spoke, Skillern-Jones threatened to clear the room. The audience occasionally murmured and some chanted “no TEA” after other speakers had finished.

The final speaker was Karina Quesada-Leon, who said she was not done with her comments after her allotted one-minute speaking time. She continued to speak, and people in the crowd asked that she be allowed to finish.

Skillern-Jones asked officers to clear the meeting while the board went into recess.

Some in the audience refused to leave, and officers grabbed two women by the arms, dragging one on the floor and down a hallway to a back room. Another woman tried to avoid the officers but ended up in a scuffle with some in the lobby.

More than 70 audience members lingered outside after they were kicked out, chanting “let us in” and “sell-outs.”

After about two hours, an HISD official told those gathered they would be allowed back in to watch the meeting on TV monitors in an overflow room. The former audience members refused, saying they did not want to legitimize the board’s actions.

The board reconvened and adjourned the meeting without making future plans to vote on the charter-partnership proposal.

Editor's note: This story has been updated after Houston ISD abandoned plans to hand over the operations of the 10 schools to Energized for STEM Academy, Inc. on Wednesday.

Shelby Webb covers K-12 education for the Houston Chronicle. You can email her at shelby.webb@chron.com or follow her on Twitter @shelbywebb.

Shelby Webb is a suburban education reporter for the Houston Chronicle, covering trends across districts in Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Brazoria counties. She previously worked as an education reporter with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Florida from 2013 to 2016 and attended the University of Florida.